US bank J.P. Morgan announced its annual curation of «What’s next»: a collection of recommended books and cultural experiences inspired by evolving ideas and perspectives for 2024.
For the second year, «NextList 2024» features a new spotlight, highlighting a company focused on investing in the next generation of sustainable businesses through creativity and innovation.
J.P. Morgan client advisors from around the world submitted recommendations for «NextList 2024», which were reviewed for timeliness, quality and global appeal. The final selections include 11 books, five experiences and our Innovation Spotlight, each intentionally chosen to enlighten us into the coming year.
- The J.P. Morgan #NextList 2024 selections are:
1. Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant
Bestselling author and celebrated Wharton organizational psychologist Adam Grant returns with an illuminating framework for how we can elevate ourselves and others to new heights. In a world obsessed with talent, we often overlook the distance we ourselves can go to adopt new skills and improve.
Weaving together groundbreaking evidence, unexpected insights and storytelling that takes us from the boardroom to the Olympics, Grant demonstrates how growth is not determined by innate genius, but rather by character development. While many writers have detailed the habits of those who have achieved greatness, Hidden Potential reveals how anyone can rise to the top.
2. The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li
In this moving memoir, scientist Fei-Fei Li shares her coming-of-age story as an immigrant who found her calling at the center of the artificial intelligence revolution. As the creator of ImageNet, a key catalyst of modern AI, Li has spent more than two decades in the field and is one of the critical players responsible for AI’s recent advances.
Recounting her extraordinary life, she describes her family’s difficult transition from China’s middle class to American poverty, how she discovered her passion for physics and her scientific breakthroughs that have demonstrated the extraordinary possibilities and power of this era-defining technology.
3. Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara
Only 26 when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, American restaurateur Will Guidara would transform a struggling two-star New York City brasserie into the best restaurant in the world.
At the center of this major 11-year reinvention was a commitment to remarkable, bespoke hospitality. Unreasonable Hospitality makes the case that all businesses can be hospitality companies when they deliver their products in a first-class way. From surprising a family with a sledding trip to Central Park to filling a private dining room with sand for a couple with a canceled vacation, Guidara reveals how we can transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences.
4. The Luxury Collection: Extraordinary Celebrations by Elise Taylor
The eighth volume in Assouline’s elegant Luxury Collection series, Extraordinary Celebrations takes us on a journey around the world to wine festivals, award ceremonies, galas, parades and more. Written by Vogue’s Elise Taylor, the book offers an intimate look into incredible destinations and local cultures, from the thrill of a royal horse race in Dubai to a historical religious procession at Tambo del Inka in Peru, to a four-day all-you-can-eat festival in Portland.
Accompanied by interviews with global tastemakers who share insights into all things travel, and recommendations from some of the world’s most distinctive hotels, Extraordinary Celebrations will inspire once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
5. Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens by Rajiv Shah
Rajiv Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, is no stranger to solving complex and urgent challenges, from helping vaccinate 900 million children to racing to stop the spread of Ebola.
His approach employs a «big bets» philosophy – the bold idea that seeking to solve the stickiest problems directly, rather than making incremental improvements, can draw in powerful partners to achieve transformational change. Shah, an Indian American from an immigrant family, traces his path to the Rockefeller Foundation across some of the most ambitious global efforts to create impact, including posts at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
6. Vitamin C+: Collage in Contemporary Art by Phaidon Editors
Although collage, an artistic form using found images, fragmented materials and unexpected juxtapositions, gained status as high art in the early 20th century, a fresh explosion of dynamic and experimental artists has burst onto the scene in the last decade. Vitamin C+ surveys over 100 global artists working in the medium, as selected by a team of art experts comprising museum directors, curators, critics and collectors.
Featuring well-known collagists such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ellen Gallagher, Peter Kennard, Linder and more, as well as lesser-known rising stars, Vitamin C+ serves as a who’s who of the most exciting names working in this evolving art form.
7. Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work by Joanne Lipman
The profound changes of the last few years have sparked many to reprioritize and re-envision the future. In Next!, «Wall Street Journal» reporter Joanne Lipman breaks down the art of the pivot, synthesizing hundreds of interviews and the latest scientific research to reveal how and why successful businesses and leaders are able to make meaningful transformations.
From the laboratories of neuroscientists to the boardrooms of «Fortune 500» companies, to the frontlines of the social justice movement, Lipman dives deep into understanding how to reinvent companies, teams and careers so we can determine «what’s next» and how to get there.
8. Dream Businesses: Live and Work on Your Own Terms by gestalten and Courier Media
Introducing the next generation that is changing the face of entrepreneurship, Dream Businesses showcases outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs bringing these visions to life. Written in collaboration with gestalten and Courier Media, this photo-focused book features a diverse range of innovators and the lessons they learned along the way.
Spotlighting everything from a Moroccan surf school to a Copenhagen-based design studio, to a West African fashion brand, Dream Businesses offers readers a glimpse into the extraordinary world of these original and inventive companies, along with detailed accounts of how they were built.
9. The Book of Wilding: A Practical Guide to Rewilding Big and Small by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell
While the effects of climate change and loss of biodiversity seem irreversible, Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell demonstrate how nature can bounce back if given the chance.
Evolving from their joint pioneering mission to help rewild Britain, Europe and the rest of the world, this handbook offers ways to restore unprofitable farms, landed estates, gardens and ponds, urban parks and more. With practical solutions learned from Tree’s and Burrell’s visionary project, The Book of Wilding reveals how rewilding can not only restore our environments, but also offer solutions to the other climate issues our world faces.
10. Think You’ll Be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude by Nicole Avant
In this poignant memoir, diplomat, philanthropist and filmmaker Nicole Avant courageously turns her pain into purpose as she recounts the tragic loss of her mother in a fatal December 2021 shooting. As the daughter of an entertainment mogul and a legendary philanthropist, Avant draws on how her upbringing surrounded by extraordinary artists and activists – including everyone from Bill Withers to Sidney Poitier and Oprah Winfrey – propelled her into a life committed to storytelling and activism.
Avant channels her grief into fuel that pushes her forward into a life even more committed to service. Through telling her family’s story and recounting her mother’s tragic death, Avant explores the important cultural themes of this moment—faith, resilience, forgiveness and purpose – and how these can help us move through grief with grit and gratitude.
11. National Geographic Invisible Wonders: Photographs of the Hidden World by Anand Varma
Explore the hidden wonders of the world through the eyes of acclaimed scientist-photographer Anand Varma. Taking us from the Ecuadorian rainforests to the glaciers of Iceland, Invisible Wonders explores how cutting-edge practices in size, light and focus can reveal dazzling new things about our world, from the microscopic to the cosmic.
Offering perspectives once invisible to the naked eye, from the long tongue of the hummingbird to the intricate shape of a butterfly pupa, this new take on a «National Geographic» classic shows how the finest contemporary photographers are using innovation to reframe how we see the world.
- Experiences
Seoul, South Korea | The Robot and AI Museum
Located in Seoul’s Chang-dong district, the Robot and AI Museum is a first-of-its-kind, complete with four floors showcasing the full range these emerging technologies have to offer.
With an aim to support public education in the region, the museum is focused on inspiring the next generation of computer programmers and technology enthusiasts through various exhibitions dedicated to holograms, virtual reality and more.
The museum is housed in a futuristic round building designed by Turkish architecture practice Melike Altinisik Architects, which even used robots throughout the construction process.
New York, NY | Merrily We Roll Along
Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical about the evolution of a friendship returns to the stage with its Broadway revival. Set in the showbiz world of the 1950s to 1970s, the musical tells the story of how three friends’ lives change over the course of 20 years, from their days as aspiring artists to «making it» among Hollywood’s elite.
Starring Spring Awakening and Hamilton’s Jonathan Groff, Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe and Carousel’s Lindsay Mendez, «Merrily We Roll Along» tells a moving story about life and the meaningful friendships we encounter along the way.
Napa Valley, CA | Rarecat Wines
A Napa-based boutique winery producing fine wines from Napa Valley, Bordeaux, Champagne and Russian River, Rarecat Wines offers old-school winemaking with a modern twist.
The vision of owner and director Sharon Kazan Harris, a Californian who discovered her love of wine while studying abroad in France’s Bordeaux region, Rarecat uniquely blends Old World and New World winemaking techniques to achieve a rare elegance.
Passionate about women’s wealth and empowerment, Kazan is focused on connecting and uplifting women across the industry through networking and education.
Manchester, UK | Factory International
Offering a world-class, year-round program of what’s next in dance, music, visual and performance arts, digital commissions and more, Factory International finds its new landmark space at Aviva Studios, a multipurpose arts venue in Manchester, the heart of the birthplace of modern industry.
Located in one of the United Kingdom’s buzziest cities, the organization recently produced the largest-ever immersive exhibition celebrating Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, with more exciting global exhibitions, concerts and programming to come.
The venue also has a focus on the next generation, offering development programs for emerging artists, training for aspiring technicians and producers, and learning programs to inspire creativity in all ages.
New York, NY | The Wiz
The 1975 Tony Award–winning musical returns to the Broadway stage for the first time in over 40 years. Having changed the face of theatre with its groundbreaking reinvention of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz is back with its vibrant score of soul, gospel and rock – told to the moving tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
Starring Deborah Cox and Wayne Brady and featuring an all-star creative team including the director of The Notebook and the choreographer of Beyonce’s «Single Ladies,» this highly anticipated show is the next iteration of the beloved musical.
Also, look for The Wiz during its pre-Broadway run in select cities across the US.
- Innovation Spotlight
London, UK | Stella McCartney
Since founding her eponymous luxury fashion brand in 2001, Stella McCartney has pushed the boundaries of sustainability, pioneering leather alternatives and other cruelty-free materials, and partnering with startups to develop 100 percent recycled and recyclable fabrics.
McCartney is a proponent of new products that address today’s sustainability challenges, and her most recent project focuses on the pipeline as she joins forces with venture capital firm Collaborative Fund to launch SOS Fund, a $200 million investment in the future of sustainable businesses.
The award-winning designer continues to raise the bar for how companies can engage the next generation.
